Bird feeder

ABSTRACT

A housing has an opening formed in the forward portion thereof to allow insertion and removal of a tray. A feeding cup is attached to the tray and serves as a receptacle for bird feed. The housing serves as a shield against outward scattering of feed and the tray prevents feed from being dropped downwardly into a surrounding cage. Feed is easily replenished and the tray is conveniently cleaned by removing the tray from the housing.

United States Patent Krueger 1451 Apr. 11, 197 2 s41 BIRD FEEDER1,227,471 5/1917 Mack ..119/18 [72] Inventor: Cemem E. Kruger, PO Box4144 2,031,874 2/ 1936 Butler et al. ..119/18 Creek Cahf- 94596 PrimaryExaminerl-lugh R. Chamblee [2 2] Filed; Apt 3 7 Attorney-Clarence A.OBrien and Harvey 13. Jacobson [21] Appl. No.: 25,510 [57 B TR A housinghas an opening formed in the forward portion [52] U.S. C1 ..119/ 18thereof to allow insertion and removal of a tray. A feeding cup [51]Int. Cl. ,.A01k 31/00 is attached to the tray and serves as a receptaclefor bird feed. [58] Field of S h 1 19/13, 17, 51, 24 The housing servesas a shield against outward scattering of feed and the tray preventsfeed from being dropped [56] References Cited downwardly into asurrounding cage. Feed is easily replenished and the tray isconveniently cleaned by removing UNITED STATES PATENTS the tray from thehouslng.

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sum 1 OF 2 PATENTEDAFR 11 I972 SHEET 2 0F 2 Fig. 4

Clement E. Krueger IAHVIuV/UK.

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BIRD FEEDER The present invention relates to a bird feeder.

During the present time, conventional bird feeders include a simple cupgenerally attached to the wires of the surrounding cage. Feeders in useprovide little or no shielding so that feed and chaff dropped by a birdis scattered outside the cage and onto the floor of the cage. As will beappreciated, this is a nuisance and inconvenience to the owner who mustcontinually clean the mess generated by the bird.

The present feeder includes a shielding housing which preventsscattering of feed and chaff. Further, the feed cup is mounted on aremovable tray which collects the scattered feed and chafi so that thismaterial is not scattered outwardly of the cage or on the cage floor. Byvirtue of the removable tray included in the present invention, it is asimple matter to clean the mess produced by a bird, and to replenish thefeed supply. A further advantage of the invention resides in the factthat the shielding housing provides more feeding area than conventionalfeeders and does not restrict birds to a limited space.

These together with other objects and advantages which will becomesubsequently apparent reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, whereinlike numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIG. I is a perspective view illustrating the disposition of the presentfeeder in a cage.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view showing the components of the feeder.

FIG. 3 is a partially cut-away top plan view of the feeder.

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view taken along a plane passing throughsection line 4-4 of FIG. 3.

Referring to the figures, and more particularly FIGS. 1 and 2, thepresent feeder is generally indicated by reference numeral and is seento be attached to the wall 12 of a surrounding cage and in an elevatedposition with respect to the cage floor 14.

The feeder is seen to include a shielding housing 16 which admits asliding feeding tray 18. The housing has side walls 20 articulating to abase or bottom wall 22 on which the feeding tray 18 rests when insertedin the housing. A rear wall 24 of the housing articulates to an upperrearward wall section 26. A large opening characterizes the upperforward portion of the upper wall 26, this opening allowing a birdfreedom of movement while feeding. Integrally connected downwardlyopening notched extensions or hook elements 28 extend rearwardly fromthe rear edge of side walls 20 behind the rear wall 24 thereby allowingthe feeder to be attached to a horizontal bar or wire of the surroundingcage 12. Elongated rail elements 29 are attached to the bottom portionof the interior confronting surfaces of side walls 20. These railelements engage the feeding tray 18 and serve as guides for the trayduring removal and insertion thereof.

Considering the structure of feed tray 18, as shown in FIG. 2, the trayincludes a base 30 bounded by side walls 32 and a rear wall 34. Aremovable partition 40 serves as a front wall for the tray and upon itsremoval, and entrance 36 may be gained to the tray for the purpose ofeffecting simple cleaning.

Vertical track elements 38 extend in confronting relation from the sidewalls 32 and serve as guides for the removable partition 40.

A feeding cup 42 is positioned along the rear wall 34 of the tray. Moreparticularly, the feeding cup includes a receptacle 43 for receivingfeed. The rear wall of the receptacle 43 is notched as indicated by 44so that the cup is positioned in vertical flush relation with the rearwall 34 of the tray. Forwardly directed flanges 56 are coextensive withthe side walls of the receptacle 43 and serve to mount a removable perch50 that is transversely disposed within aligned apertures in the flanges46.

Although the present invention has been described in terms of a manuallyrefillable feeder, this unit can also be used as an automatic feeder byattachin a hopper outside ca e 12. Typically, the hopper would inc ude aslotted tube t at extends through the wires of the cage. The slottedtube would extend into an opening formed in the housing and thenterminate in communication with the receptacle of the feeder cup. Thehopper inlet would be easily accessible from outside the cage so that itcould be filled without being removed from the cage.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles ofthe invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limitthe invention to the exact construction and operation shown anddescribed, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalentsmay be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention asclaimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A bird feeder for use in conjunction with a bird cage includingside-by-side vertical bars crossed by a horizontal bar, said feedercomprising a housing having upstanding opposite side wallsinterconnected by means of a generally horizontal bottom wall and anupstanding rear wall as well as at least a partial top wall extendingbetween the upper marginal edge portions of said side walls andprojecting forwardly from the upper marginal edge portion of said rearwall, said housing including an open front, a feeding and droppings trayremovably supported within the lower portion of said housing forhorizontal removal through the open front of the housing, the rearportion of said tray including means defining an upwardly opening feedcup and horizontal perch means supported from said tray above the bottomthereof adjacent and forward of said cup, said perch being disposedrearward of the front half of said tray, said top and side wallsextending forwardly passed said perch, the rear portions of the uppermarginal edges of said side walls including downwardly opening notchedextensions projecting rearwardly from the rear wall, said notchedextensions being adapted to be hooked over longitudinally spacerportions of said horizontal bar with the rear surface of said rear wallabutting said vertical bars.

2. The structure of claim 1 wherein the tray has marginal wallsincluding a rear wall, side walls, and a removable partition serving asa front wall whereby removal of the partition facilitates tray cleaning.

3. The structure of claim 1 wherein the cup projects above the top ofthe tray and includes an offset rear wall to permit flush mounting ofthis wall with respect to the rear wall of the tray.

1. A bird feeder for use in conjunction with a bird cage includingside-by-side vertical bars crossed by a horizontal bar, said feedercomprising a housing having upstanding opposite side wallsinterconnected by means of a generally horizontal bottom wall and anupstanding rear wall as well as at least a partial top wall extendingbetween the upper marginal edge portions of said side walls andprojecting forwardly from the upper marginal edge portion of said rearwall, said housing including an open front, a feeding and droppings trayremovably supported within the lower portion of said housing forhorizontal removal through the open front of the housing, the rearportion of said tray including means defining an upwardly opening feedcup and horizontal perch means supported from said tray above the bottomthereof adjacent and forward of said cup, said perch being disposedrearward of the front half of said tray, said top and side wallsextending forwardly passed said perch, the rear portions of the uppermarginal edges of said side walls including downwardly opening notchedextensions projecting rearwardly from the rear wall, said notchedextensions being adapted to be hooked over longitudinally spacerportions of said horizontal bar with the rear surface of said rear wallabutting said vertical bars.
 2. The structure of claim 1 wherein thetray has marginal walls including a rear wall, side walls, and aremovable partition serving as a front wall whereby removal of thepartition facilitates tray cleaning.
 3. The structure of claim 1 whereinthe cup projects above the top of the tray and includes an offset rearwall to permit flush mounting of this wall with respect to the rear wallof the tray.